Food and Beverage Web Design With Every Ingredient to Engage Your Customers

Since 2009, we’ve built custom websites for consumer brands who want the best user experience for their customers while maximizing online marketing efforts. We eat, sleep, and breathe websites and are rated by Clutch.co as a top web design agency!

Our passionate web designers, developers, and content specialists have vast experience creating responsive and conversion-optimized websites. We understand the ins-and-outs of food and beverage web design and put in the time and effort to get to know your needs and vision.

Why is custom web design the best choice?

Brands should look at their websites as the foundation for all online marketing campaigns. It is where all your marketing channels feed into. With a properly built website, you will reduce the spending needed on other channels, which will result in long-term savings and improved opportunities to generate more revenue through investment in custom website development. The 5 most important reasons to consider custom web design are:

  • Built for your needs and operations
  • Easy and fast to update
  • Long-term marketing savings
  • Better conversion rates and opportunities
    Faster loading speeds for engagement

What is included in the web development process?

We cover every detail of web design and will guide you through the entire process. Our goal is to minimize your time needed and we’ll be the one to drive the project milestones and take on all of the heavy lifting. We invest the time to learn your story, your challenges, and your goals through team meetings and regular check-ins to talk through questions and maintain vision alignment. These are the main phases of each website development project:

  • Website Roadmap – a long-term plan for the build today and for the future
  • SEO Strategy – what to focus on and where
  • Content – we’ll help write and edit
  • UI/UX – responsive, mobile-friendly designed layouts
  • Website Development – custom on WordPress including APIs & Databases

How do we measure ROI on food and beverage web design projects?

We know that well-built websites are an investment for consumer brands. An investment that can make or break a company’s market budget and impact the overall revenue. This is why we don’t cut any corners and look at every detail. It is also critical to establish KPIs at the very beginning of every project that will act as a guiding point for the build and ensure that both the immediate goals as well as the long-term goals are being considered during the process.

Objective

A Beverage Distributor That Needed Custom Website Features

Superior Beverage was a growing consumer goods brand that wasn’t supported by its current website. To maintain their growth, they needed a custom web design that would meet their evolving needs.

As a beverage distributor, their website needed to be easy to use and provide necessary product info. On their current website, it was not easy to display product selections, or for users to search their product inventory. This was costing their business revenue.

Another issue affecting the website was user navigability. Overall the web design needed improvement, a focus on the customer journey was missing plus certain elements simply looked outdated. Creating a better user experience would drive more business for Superior Beverage.

Solution

A New CPG Website for a Beverage Industry Leader

To address the issues facing the Superior Beverage website our team proposed a custom web design project. The new custom WordPress website would solve each of the unique issues they were experiencing.

Our custom web design team began by building the functionality that would be needed for the new website. We used an integrated API process that would allow for their products to display quickly and correctly.

We designed a search and filter function so that their users could easily search the entire product inventory. Now users could filter based on their search criteria and spend less time searching for products. This would help reduce bounce and increase overall conversion.

These robust technical features were built quickly and would be easily manageable by the Superior beverage team. Their team would easily be able to manage and edit the website as needed, which was critical since their inventory changes frequently. Based on their stock the team could promote items they needed to sell quickly.

In addition to the technical improvements, the website also benefitted from better load speeds. By creating a custom WordPress website we removed old or broken functionality that was slowing down the page load speeds.

Custom Web Design

A Custom Web Design That Prioritized User Experience

As we completed backend updates, our front-end development team worked to make a more user-friendly site. Improvements to the user journey were one of our main priorities.

A newly organized and navigable website menu and layout serve to improve the user journey along with cosmetic UI changes to give a more modern feel to the user experience. The website builds trust on the first interaction with its target audience. Additional features like improved CTAs also help drive more conversion than the previous website.

With the rise in mobile users, new custom web design projects need to be mobile responsive, providing the same experience across mobile, tablet, and desktop browsers. Our team ensured that the Superior Beverage website was built to meet mobile optimization standards. The new responsive and intuitive design for Superior Beverage encourages customers to visit and engage with their website no matter what device they choose to use.

SEO

Building a Better SEO Strategy to Improve Website Rankings

As our custom web design team improved the website functionality and layout, our expert marketing team got to work on improving the client’s SEO strategy. A comprehensive SEO plan is crucial to a successful integrated web strategy.

We began by researching and identifying keyword opportunities for the new website. By including keyword variations we were able to uncover valuable SEO opportunities. If we targeted these keywords on the new website we could help our client rank higher in the search results.

Next, using those keywords we began improving the technical SEO for the custom WordPress website. To build a strong SEO strategy your website needs to meet the technical SEO requirements which include a variety of factors like meta tags, titles, alt tags and more. These attributes help signal to search engine crawlers that your website content is valuable and relevant to specific users.

Finally, we made sure SEO was used correctly on the audience-facing side of the new website. Core pages focused on specific keywords to build the ranking for those phrases. The most valuable keywords appeared through headlines, copy, and other content. The repeated use of these phrases in the right way will increase our client’s website ranking over time.

Their new updated SEO means that Superior Beverage would start ranking higher in the search results and receive more traffic.

Web Design Award

Our Chicago Web Design Team Wins an International Competition For Website Design

After we completed our work on the Superior Beverage CPG website we were excited to learn that our custom web design work had won an award. Each year the Web Excellence awards accept thousands of entries from over 60 countries to compete for awards in specific website categories.

A panel of website and CPG experts determined that Superior Beverage had the best custom web design in the Alcohol and Wine category. This Web Excellence Award demonstrates how beneficial the work of our Chicago web design team is!

Objective

align Their Website And Messaging To Strategically Reach The Modern-Day Consumer

Technology, markets, and business is constantly evolving. In order to maintain a healthy competitive advantage, all aspects of a business must be routinely strategized in order to produce effective results. A company’s website can often be the first place potential customers meet their brand, or gain the necessary knowledge to take action towards a purpose. As such a pivotal bridge to a target market, updating and redesigning your website is imperative for a company’s success.

Bridgford’s goal was to remain adaptive to the changing times with their website and therefore remain abreast with a larger variety of potential consumers. Reaching more people increases the pool of potential buyers and stimulates brand awareness to new clients while retargeting previous visitors. Bridgford wanted to make sure their site was reaching as much traffic as possible and that, once there, they could easily find what they were looking for.

With the double-edged sword of expanding its reach and becoming fully optimized for online use, Bridgford wanted to make products and information easier to access. By doing so, they can meet more consumers at various stages of purchase intent. By easily providing an easy solution to a range of problems, Bridgford can begin to develop a positive association between brand and buyer.

While the site itself was a primary objective, Bridgford had an objective for utilizing the copy within. In order to overcome a limiting brand perception, Bridgford wanted to properly communicate their brand message to reinforce that their company offers more than just jerky and to specifically target the people who buy its products: modern outdoorsmen.

Solution

Attract Target Audiences By Improved CPG Branding Through A Custom Website

The custom food and beverage web design makes Bridgford products as available as possible. The average user journey is incredibly varied and often never the same way twice. Therefore, driving traffic to the redesigned website was not just enough. Bridgford needed to have all their bases covered and meet consumers at every stage of the buyer’s journey. This is why Bridgford offers the option to buy products directly from their site with the “Shop Now” page, locate where they can buy products near them, as well as more information for people not ready to take either step.

Bridgford’s website design allowed them to successfully offer multiple solutions to counter complex purchase paths. Site visitors can: purchase the product directly from their site, locate the nearest store to their custom location if they wish to purchase in person, or garner information regarding all things Bridgford. With four distinct dropdowns, traffic is easily corralled and gently guided in the direction most likely to result in a conversion.

Using Distinct CTA’s To Drive Action and Increase Conversions

Consumers visiting the “Shop Now” page have a much higher intent to make a purchase. They are currently at the decision stage of a buyer’s journey and are ready to act. This makes it critical to organize product information clearly to prevent a seamless buying experience. It avoids mental obstruction and frustration that could result in visitors leaving the site. Idea wanted to make sure Bridgford capitalized on traffic coming to this page by upgrading their product page designs with clear product imagery, and having both products and ordering available in the same place.

Organized navigation was also implemented in order to help users easily find what product they were looking for. Upon clicking the “Shop Now” page, products are categorized into 6 clear sections: pepperoni, beef jerky, summer sausage, salami, meat snacks, and fundraising. Within each main category are related products based on which form the user wants. You can click on each product to view specific details and information, as well as have related products listed below. If interested, visitors can simply add the item to their cart and continue their buying experience until ready to checkout.

To reach today’s average consumer, you have to be aware of current purchasing trends. Besides the fact everyone has a phone now, with a target market of avid outdoorsmen, Bridgford’s average consumer is purchasing their products on the go. With information being more easily accessible from cellular devices and people spending an increased amount of time on them, it was imperative for Bridgford’s site to be 100% mobile-friendly and optimized. This means that their custom web design included back-end optimization for various size devices as well as a strategic mobile layout. By improving mobile design and speed, Bridgford can take advantage of mobile traffic users looking to make a purchase.

The modern website redesign presents a clear look, and a cohesive branding message focused on directly talking to their highest consumer demographic: males who like the outdoors. Product pages feature copy distinctly marketing their meat products as 100% American beef and Bridgford as a company that is fully American-based. By taking a more uniform stance on all pages helps to better resonate with their target customer demographic and show how much Bridgford has to offer.

While even the most rustic of men stick with tradition, more and more are intrigued by social media featuring their favorite outdoor hobbies and activities. To capture their target market’s attention, the Bridgford Outdoors page highlights their angler team to drive a deeper connection between consumer and company. This is linked to their Instagram and Facebook platforms that feature product and outdoor content, further solidifying their brand story. Linking to these platforms can help increase traffic to their posts and allows Bridgford to successfully reach a younger generation of targeted consumers, helping to establish brand loyalty earlier.

With an updated website featuring a custom redesign, access to online ordering and product information, mobile-optimization, and branding for their target market, Idea was excited to produce a site with many future benefits. Bridgford is now prepared for the future, and better than ever!

Custom Website Functionality

Using a Custom WordPress Website To Accomplish Custom Website  Functionality

The “Where To Buy” page was specifically designed by Idea for Bridgford to help users with the question, “Where can I find Bridgford products near me?”

With a typical location page, many websites list every possible location or show markers spread out across a wide map. While this is helpful, a buyer on the verge of purchasing a product doesn’t need to know all of Bridgford’s locations – in fact, that long list will slow down their search and decrease their user journey.

Consumers want solutions fast, instantly if possible; they only need to know the location that works best for them. Having a custom map with up to three filter options allows a speedy and efficient answer that delivers Bridgford location options that are directly related to the prospective client’s needs.

Website Support

Supporting Bridgford’s New Custom WordPress website In More Ways Than One

While the design may take the forefront, development had a huge hand in this custom food and beverage website redesign. By simplifying the backend, our expert development team increased load speed, and accelerated overall site performance, while also utilizing the design to be fully optimized on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. This ensures that no matter how traffic is getting to Bridgford’s site, their user experience won’t be impacted by slow speeds and display errors.

Once on-site, users can easily navigate through clear SEO copy and attention-grabbing call-to-actions. Better user experience, website functionality, and optimized SEO all mesh together to help drive SERP rankings up.

The success story doesn’t stop there. While website design and marketing come naturally to everyone at Idea, we recognize that our clients will need assistance after a site is successfully launched as well. While our website can be customized, we also offer website troubleshooting, training, and tips through a personalized support team. Our lead support manager Haley is an open book of knowledge that you can rely on to make sure your company can internally utilize your website redesign to its full capacity.

Objective

Providing Better Brand Manager Tools to the Eagle Brand Team

As CPG web design experts, we frequently work as a brand management consultant. In this case, Eagle was searching for several key improvements to its website and online presence. The Eagle team wanted a new, user-oriented consumer goods website with an updated focus and brand messaging. The new focus of the website needed to better reflect what their target audience could do with their products. An updated and improved recipe page design would be the key factor in creating a new website that met these criteria.

In addition to the updated website focus and recipe section overhaul, Eagle also wanted to make sure that the new custom WordPress website was user-friendly, with an emphasis on the user experience. The new Eagle Brand website needed to be easily navigable for its user demographic. A clean clear menu that allowed users to quickly and easily find what they were looking for was essential.

Capturing Mobile Traffic Was a Key Element in the Website Redesign Proposal

The CPG web design would also need to take into account the shift in user behavior. While desktop computers still make up a large portion of internet traffic, mobile has grown into a significant portion of search traffic. Mobile users also represent a key opportunity for consumer goods brands, as many users search on mobile devices while they are in the store searching for a product to buy. Eagle Brand’s new website needed to be mobile-friendly in order to capture this new segment of market traffic.

Finally, the website would need to be more manageable for the Eagle Brand team. The new website would be built so that it would be easy for their team to manage, and make updates as needed. For example, with the previous website, Eagle’s team struggled to update information and images to reflect seasonal changes or product highlights. To increase their control over the website these issues needed to be addressed when we crafted our integrated web strategy.

Solution

Improving the User Flow for Eagle Brand’s Consumer Goods Web Design

Our Chicago web design team understood that a core goal of this project was updating the messaging across the Eagle Brand website to adjust the focus. The new Eagle Brand website would need to feature more emphasis on recipes and baked goods made using their products. Attractive images would be featured prominently across the website pages with a distinct Call-to-Action that leads customers to products or recipes.

The top menu bar would also need to be reorganized to place special emphasis on their recipe pages and to provide clear navigation to other website sections. This would help improve the overall user flow of the website.

Custom Web Design

Better User Navigation, Site Manageability, and an Improved Recipe Page Section Through an Integrated Web Strategy

One of the main objectives of this custom web design was a complete overhaul of the website’s recipe pages. The entire website recipe section needed to be updated to reflect current user behavior and meet recipe page best practices. We created custom recipe pages that aligned with recipe page best practices, meaning they were easy to read, share, and find the products used within the recipes. Links take users directly to where they can purchase the product or find it locally.

Other new website features like categories allow users to better refine their searches and find options in the categories that were of interest to them. The new recipe section also featured collections, so users could browse by options like ‘5 ingredients or less”, “no bake”, or “holiday.” With the updated recipe sections the user search was simplified.

With the improved user flow, these pages would see much more engagement from their target audience. The new pages were also much easier to manage for the Eagle Brand team. Any updates or edits could be made quickly and with ease. Together each of these elements was a key factor in the integrated web strategy.

Custom Website Functionality

Creating a Custom Importer to Manage the Recipe Page Imports

For the new Eagle Brand website, there were hundreds of recipes that would need to be added. To add each recipe would take months to complete and be a major drain on time and resources for the Eagle team. To avoid this our team of web developers built a custom recipe importer to manage the recipe page imports. This custom functionality saved the Eagle time and effort in launching their new recipe pages.

Recipe Book Image for Custom Recipe Importer for Eagle Brand Foods

On the technical side, our Chicago web design team performed numerous upgrades to the website like our custom importer to manage the import of hundreds of unique recipes. The new website also allowed the Eagle team to easily make changes to the website images and text to keep up with their seasonal promotions and product highlights.

From a design point of view, our custom web design team created a unique consumer packaged goods website with updated messaging and focus that also simplified the user flow, allowing customers to easily find the products they were looking for. There was a complete overhaul of the website’s recipe section; creating and organizing recipe pages that were easily filterable. Each of the new website page load speeds was also improved by our team.

Creating an Online Recipe Box for Users to Save Favorite Recipes

We also created a custom functionality that served as a way for users to save recipes they wanted to view later in a section called “My Recipe Box.” This option was present within the menu header across the website so users could always find it easily.

Website Support

Ongoing Support for Our Client’s Custom WordPress Website

Eagle Brand continues to rely on the Idea Marketing group for website support in add-ons and updates for their custom WordPress website. Our client has direct access to our amazing Support Manager Haley Langer. When Haley is not addressing our client’s needs she works diligently to review the site, offer suggestions and create add-ons and updates to help Eagle Brand stay the leading CPG brand for classic holiday recipes.

Our team trains our clients on obtaining the most value from their new custom WordPress website by educating them on how to use it to its full potential. This supports the Eagle Brand team as they easily manage their new website.

Idea Marketing Group

Free Website Redesign Checklist

Are you preparing for an upcoming website redesign? Maybe this is not your first rodeo or this will be your first website project. No matter your experience level, this checklist will help you prepare for your new website.

Website Redesign Planner

We help food and beverage brands deliver better website experiences

Since day one, we’ve helped food and beverage brands deliver amazing online experiences expanding what was previously focused primarily on in-store, retail presentations. Our roots began in food and hospitality.

We know what your consumers want in a website as well as the journey they take through the website. Yes, sales are number 1 whether it is through direct ecommerce, distributor channels, or location maps showing what retail locations carry your brand. We’ll help guide them to make a sale.

However, there are steps needed first and the main one is providing education. Consumers want to know about the ingredients, recipes or ways to use the product, and see visuals of the product. Don’t worry about knowing where to focus first, that is where we will help. Which is why we always start with strategy.

Website Strategy

Brands that want to improve or completely redesign their existing website should always start with a well-defined plan. Together, we will create a blueprint to be used for your website build.

  • Define Goal KPIs
  • Uncover Opportunities
  • Identify Solutions
  • Develop a Website Architecture
  • Build a Brand Board
  • Map Out User Journey
  • Perform Competitive Research
Website Content + SEO

We begin with in-depth research and planning before crafting search engine optimized copy for your website. We will simplify your visitor’s decision-making and improve call to action conversions.

  • Define Messaging Tone and Feel
  • Establish a Keyphrase SEO Strategy
  • Write Targeted Website Content
  • Identify Call To Action Messaging
  • Create Website Wireframes
CRM Integrations

We’ve worked with a variety of CRM’s as well as different types of use cases. If there is an API, we have it covered or set help in creating an API as well as leverage Zapier.

  • Salesforce
  • Hubspot
  • Zoho
  • Pipedrive
  • SugarCRM
  • Microsoft Dynamics
Database Integrations

Simplify operations by connecting databases to populate content directly on your website. We can write scripts to import and handle a wide variety of data types and needs.

  • Product Catalogs
  • Specification Tables
  • Data Records
  • User Management
  • Cron Jobs for Automated Updates
Custom Built on WordPress

Where all of your marketing channels feed into. With a properly built website, you are reducing the spend needed on other channels resulting in long-term savings and improved opportunities to generate more revenue.

  • Responsive Layouts with UI/UX Best Practices
  • Completely Custom, No Poorly Made Templates
  • Code Optimization for Loading Speed
  • Usability Testing + Browser Compatibility
  • 1 on 1 Website Training
Website Support + Improvement

Websites, browsers, and user behavior is always changing. We provide plans to support website needs with routine maintenance as well as continuously improving websites to beat and stay ahead of the competition.

  • Website Support Plans
  • Managed Monthly Hosting
  • ADA Compliance + Monitoring
  • On-going Search Engine Optimization
  • Content Marketing
  • Paid Advertising

Idea Marketing has been our company’s website host for many years, and we are very pleased with their services.

‐ The Patio

Every other agency was telling us what we needed instead of listening to what we wanted. We all felt like you really heard us.

‐ Superior Beverage

Idea Marketing Group is truly an example of excellence. Great design, fast turnaround, friendly team – Bridgford loves Idea!

‐ Bridgford Foods

Our Chicago restaurant group needed a complete website overhaul to match the new direction of our company.

‐ Phil Stefani Signature Restaurants
Idea Marketing Group

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Frequently Asked Questions About Food and Beverage Web Design Projects

Do you have experience in food and beverage web design?

Yes. For over a decade, we’ve helped CPG brands build marketing driven websites. We invest the time to learn your story, your challenges, and your goals. We work with globally recognized brands like Carmex Lip Balm, Eagle Family Foods, Bridgford Foods, and many more.

How much does a website cost?

This is a loaded question that requires a bit of a loaded answer. Websites today are complex marketing tools that require a team of specialists:

  • Project Manager
  • Account Strategist
  • Designers
  • Front-end Developers
  • Back-end Developers
  • Content Writers
  • SEO Specialists

Similar to building a home, it first requires a plan to ensure every detail is covered. We like to call it a website roadmap.

We approach every website build in phases. The first phase is a deep interview of your company with pertinent members of your team to answer key questions to help uncover pain points, understand your goals, identify opportunities, as well as analyze the companies you are up against.

Next, we take the recommendations and knowledge gained during the first phase to craft a well-defined strategy for the custom website build. This includes the website architecture, target user personas, user journeys, brand messaging/voice, and SEO strategy which allows us to more accurately define a scope of work for the remainder of the build following the roadmap.

We will have a detailed plan as to what will be needed to build a website that not only meets your current needs but also provides a system to grow and scale helping to land your next big sales opportunities.

With all of that being said, our custom websites start at $30,000. You will not find any cookie-cutter templates here and all work is done in-house by our full-time employees.

How much to spend on marketing?

Setting an annual marketing budget can be a challenge and there are many factors to take into consideration. A quick way to generate a rough figure is to base it on the annual revenue of the company. An average percentage for B2B ranges from 6% to 12% of gross revenue as recommended by eMarketer’s Marketing Spending, assuming the sales margins are in the range of 10% to 12%. If we use these rates, below are quick examples of recommended marketing budgets:

Gross Revenue $2,500,000 x 0.12 = $300,000/year or $25,000/month

Gross Revenue $5,000,000 x 0.10 = $500,000/year or $41,650/month

Gross Revenue $10,000,000 x 0.08 = $800,000/year or $66,665/month

Gross Revenue $25,000,000 x 0.06 = $1,500,000/year or $125,000/month

These are considered conservative numbers, as companies who are in aggressive growth stages will often spend up to 20% of their revenue on marketing as well as B2C, which is typically higher than B2B. Companies that are just starting out will need to set a higher percentage than those that are more established. Measuring the success of any marketing campaign is critical. Budgets should be spent wisely and spread out to cover various types of advertising.

What is recommended for marketing budget allocation?

Gartner CMO Spend Survey released an in-depth look at marketing budget allocation for 2021, below are the findings. It is important to be aware that marketing spending is impacted by the general nature of the business, competition, and consumer behavior.

Owned Media20%Website, Email, Mobile
Paid Digital21%Search Ads, Display Ads
Earned Digital22%SEO, Social Media
Offline Ads10%Publications, Direct Mail
Affiliates9%Partners, Distributors
Events8%Trade Shows

Another quick rule of thumb for marketing budget allocation is the 70-20-10 rule.

  • 70% of your budget is allocated toward marketing strategies you know work well
  • 20% of your budget is allocated toward new strategies aimed at helping you grow
  • 10% of your budget is allocated toward experimental strategies

What is the average timeframe to build a website?

Our proven process has been continuously improved over many years of collaboration and best practices requiring each phase to be completed and approved before starting the next. We will schedule bi-weekly calls and ensure we’re on track with the project build.

Typically, the website timeframe from start to finish is about 5-7 months. The following are the stages that follow our website build:

Website Advisory Plan> Team Strategy Meeting> Define Goal KPIs> Uncover Pain Points> Website Recommendations + Solutions> Competitive SWOT Analysis10 Business Days
Branding + Content Strategy> Website Architecture> Target User Persona(s)> User Journeys> Brand Messaging / Voice> Keyphrase SEO Strategy> Define Scope of Work for the Website Build~1 Month
Website Build> Content> User Interface Designs> Frontend Website Development> Backend WordPress Development
> Launch and Final Testing
~3 – 6 Months
Included WordPress Training
> One-on-one or group training> WordPress training guide
> Typically plan for 60-90 minutes
After Launch

Founded in 2009. Idea Marketing Group is a digital marketing agency that works intimately with consumer brands and manufacturers to help build, maintain, and market websites.